Last Call
by JennieJoy72
Summary: Takes place after the announcement of mystery marriage. This also attempts to answer the challenge from Whitefeather1965 for a charter to be falling down drunk and explain why and what happens. I hope you all enjoy.


A/N: I would like to thank Lanie for giving me an extra set of eyes on this challenge. The challenge was from Whitefeather1965 to have a character be falling down drunk and explain why.

This takes place after the marriage is revealed to co-workers.

 **Last Call**

Opening the door to the apartment and stumbling through the threshold, she caught her balance as the woman behind her grabbed her waist and held her up. "I got it! I do it!" She pulled from the grip that continued to hold her steady.

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't fall and hurt yourself, Francine."

"That is your whole problem you always think you have to be helping. I don't need your help now. I am home, safe, and sound so you can just leave."

Taking a deep breath Amanda shook her head and suggested, "Do you want me to make you some coffee?"

"No! Geez, you don't even know what to do for a person who's been drinking. My dear, Mrs. Mary Poppins, if you give me coffee, all you'll have is a wide-awake drunk and all I want to do is sleep." She waved her hand in the direction of the door, indicating her desire for Amanda to leave.

Refusing to take Francine's hint, Amanda sat on the couch and watched as Francine stumbled through the apartment to sit near her. "What made you go out and get so drunk? I thought you were a chocoholic?"

Resigned to the fact that Amanda wouldn't leave until she fell asleep or passed out, she replied, "The bar was on the way to the pastry shop, which is ironically next to a candy store."

Amanda smiled as she watched as the blonde leaned her head against the back of the couch before asking, "Did this little binge have anything with what happened at work today?"

Francine snapped opened and glared at the other woman as if she had two heads, "I don't know why you would think that your little announcement at the office today would have any bearing on me in any manner."

"I didn't think it did, I just thought, well, it seemed to have upset you." Amanda steeled herself for the old Francine, the one she knew the very first year, not the one she had come to know as one of her best friends.

"Why would I care one way or another about you and Lee being married all this time?"

Standing and pacing, Amanda knew she was dealing with the female version of Lee so she had to rethink this whole conversation.

"Francine, I know you were shocked as much as everyone was about hearing that Lee and I are married. Why are you acting like it is no big deal? Will you just yell or get mad at me? Let me know that you're still in there."

Francine thought hard for a second and in her drunken haze said the only thing she could, "Do you know that we are complete opposites?"

Looking at the woman sitting, Amanda sat back down and threw her hands in the air. "I give up; you and Lee are hopeless when trying to talk after drinking."

Francine began laughing at that, "See that is what I am talking about, you said it perfectly. Lee and I are just alike except he has better tastes in partners. Like I said, you and I are completely opposite. You are tall, brunette, brown eyes, comforting and caring. I am shorter, blonde, blue eyes, and comfort and caring isn't on my resume. I have a tendency to be a bit more in your face; I think Class C is my worst interrogation technique."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Today, when Lee came in making that big announcement about his first wedding anniversary present for his wonderful wife, yes, like everyone in the room, I was shocked. When he started talking, I thought he was going to be all romantic and propose to you on the anniversary of surviving being seriously shot."

At the mention of her shooting Amanda's hand automatically went to her chest where her scar was hidden behind her red turtleneck.

"Don't do that." Francine smacked her hand away from her chest. "Don't ever be ashamed that you survived that hell. When Lee called and told us, I was so scared. I knew that if we lost you we lost Lee too. There was no way he would have survived losing you. You have no idea the impact that you have made on his life. I am so damn jealous of you. You may have daydreamed about him at first, like most women do…"

"Like you did?"

Shaking her head she said, "No, not at first. I thought he was a grade A ass. Then I took a good look at that ass, it is damn near perfect, then I fell a little for him. I wasn't lying when I said I thought that I could change him, but I always knew in the back of my mind that I wasn't qualified for that position. I just never thought you were either."

Raising her eyebrows Amanda sarcastically replied, "Thank you so much. Am I qualified for anything at the Agency?"

"Surprisingly, you are more qualified than I would like to admit, drunk or sober. That is another one of our differences. I busted my ass to get the respect and position I got to and you show up at a train station and land Lee Stetson as your partner and protector."

Amanda finally realized the reasoning behind the drinking, "It wasn't us being married at all. You see me as someone that took something from you; you think I took your friend. I didn't take him from you. God; don't you know that you two have something that I only wish I could have? You have memories that he won't share with me, you have a history that I will never be a part of; that I am not allowed to know. Yes, he fell in love with me, but he has something in you that I never get to be a part of. I accepted that and after that all you and I have been through, I was really thinking that we were moving toward a friendship. I won't make that mistake again. I'll leave you alone. Get some sleep, you're gonna need it tomorrow."

Amanda stormed out of Francine's apartment, leaving Francine staring with her mouth open in shock. Picking up the phone, she dialed Lee's apartment, but while waiting for him or his machine to pick up she felt the first wave of nausea hit her. She dropped the receiver and ran to her bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. Shortly after that she forgot about her phone call and passed out on her bed.

Amanda arrived home to find Lee and Dotty in the kitchen drinking coffee while Lee was waving his hands saying, "It wasn't a conspiracy against anyone; it was just another stupid idea of mine that I got her to agree to."

"Lee, stop, don't. Let her be mad, she has every right to be, just as much as the boys and Billy and Francine or anyone else that needs to be mad. Mother, yes it was Lee's idea to hide the marriage, but it wasn't supposed to be this long. On the flight we were talking about what it was going to be like. He was beginning to realize that it was going to be a lot like my first marriage, but I still wanted the boys and you to get to know him better. I knew that he would propose again, then we would be able to get married with everyone with us. I didn't think I was going to get shot and almost die!"

Dotty and Lee sat staring at her. It was a few minutes before Dotty said, "Amanda, of course I was upset hearing that you eloped a year ago, but seeing you with Lee this last year I knew he was the one and I knew that you knew it. I am happy for you two, but I take it someone else isn't."

It was then that she let the anger and hurt from Francine escape and she began to cry. Lee jumped to his feet and put his arms around her; rubbing her back and doing his best to sooth her. "Hey, who was that call from? Where did you go?"

Sniffing she knew Lee hated to see tears but he really hated when they were hers, "Francine called and said she needed a ride home, she was drunk and when I got her back home she… she…" Amanda found she couldn't tell him. She didn't want to do what Francine had already accused her of doing. She knew if she told Lee he would just go over there and make her feel worse than what the alcohol already would.

Shaking his head, he pulled her close Lee said, "Let me guess, she was welcoming and warm with you as always? I bet she was graciously thankful for you coming out to help her, wasn't she?"

Amanda shook her head and said, "No, she just stumbled around and refused to let me help her get in bed. I really couldn't understand a word she was saying. It just makes me sad; it reminded me of…"

Nodding and running his tongue over his bottom lip he said, "The old me."

"I'll be back in a minute, I just want to change clothes and check on the boys." Amanda turned and went upstairs.

Lee and Dotty stared as she went upstairs and before Dotty got a chance Lee said, "My wife is the worst liar."

"I don't know; she has done a good job for the last year." Dotty said with a pointed look.

Lee just cringed inwardly as he thought she knew about more than the last year. "Yeah, right, Dotty, this last year."

The next morning, Francine came in the office feeling pretty well considering the amount of alcohol she'd consumed the night before. Her only concern was trying to remember which cab company she'd used so she could find her purse.

Amanda walked in the bullpen as Francine was coming out of the conference room and walked to meet her at her desk slamming the purse down. "Here, you forgot this in my car. Don't worry I didn't take anything from you!"

Amanda turned to leave when Francine raced after her, catching her just as she arrived at the elevator. "Amanda, what's wrong? How did you get my purse? I thought I left it in a cab last night."

"I was your cab last night, Francine, and you left your purse in my car. I don't need it so I gave it back, but if you think I am giving my husband back you are sadly mistaken!"

Amanda walked in the open elevator leaving Francine standing with a few agents eyeing her. She went back to her desk trying to figure out what she could have said or done that would make Amanda think she wanted Lee. Lee was the last man on her mind.

Lee and Amanda came in the conference room for the morning briefing to find Francine already in there sitting, waiting for them.

"Where is everyone? I thought the meeting was for nine this morning?" Lee asked.

"I told you the time changed because I want to know what you meant earlier when you said you weren't giving your husband back. I don't want your husband."

"Amanda, what is she talking about?" Lee asked as he took her by the hands as it looked like she was going to bolt from the room again.

Amanda looked at the ground and then looked at Lee before she turned to Francine and began her explanation.

"You called MY house last night, asking for a ride home because YOU were unable to drive! So, I left MY house, leaving Lee alone with my mother and children to take the brunt of the yelling and hurt that OUR secret did. While that was important, I felt it was just as important to come help you, someone who never asks for help, much less mine. I really thought you had started thinking of me as a friend and understood I am here for you. How do you repay me for doing this for you? You tell me I stole Lee from you and basically didn't deserve the job I have because I "fell in to it". That really hurt, I never set out to do this job, but I do a damn good job and I continue to learn from everyone around here. I respect that you earned your place in this boys club but ya know something Francine I did too. Maybe not the way you did but I still earned it and I thought you were finally starting to see that. Last night just proved that no matter what I do it is never going to be enough to show you I belong here. I also make no apology for falling in love and marrying Lee. He may have married me, but I don't remember on part of our ceremony that said he had to denounce any and all friends before me."

Francine sat in silence as she listened to Amanda and realized that what she thought was a dream was her actually treating her friend in that horrible manner. She honestly thought it was a dream with her telling Amanda all that.

"I thought it was a dream."

"It wasn't."

"You told her that she stole me from you?" Lee asked completely confused.

"I didn't mean it in a relationship type way. I meant it as in my field partner and best friend. The more time he spent with you was less time he was going out and clubbing with me. Then when we did that case together with Tina Tomerson, the tennis pro, and he would rather be on the phone with you than run up an expense account with me, I knew I had lost my best friend. It hurt and I wanted to hurt you too I guess."

"Francine, you know if you really need me, I am there for you. Clubbing isn't me anymore. It was starting to not be me not long after I met Amanda, not because of her, but the idea of her wasn't bad. You don't need to be hanging out in bars and clubs either; you're not going to find your soul mate at one of those things."

"Oh, yeah, where then it isn't like he is going to just pop up when I least expect it? Amanda, I am really sorry. Let me take you to lunch today and we can talk about all of this. I don't have many friends to begin with and I can't lose both of them."

Laughing at Francine trying to make up she couldn't resist a little teasing, "Okay, but no wine for you at lunch." Amanda warned.

"I promise, no wine for me at lunch, but a Alabama Slammer is okay, isn't it?"

The three were still laughing when Billy walked in and said, "I hope all of you are still laughing when this meeting is over."


End file.
